Avengers: Acts of Vengeance
by GAvillain
Summary: It's been nearly a month since the Chitauri invasion of earth and already the Avengers have cause to reassemble. Based loosely on the Acts of Vengeance comic story arc of the same name. Almost definately going to be AU with the future installments. Sorry, but NOT a FrostIron fic.
1. Reassembled

**A/N: This will almost certainly be considered AU when Iron Man 3 comes out, but I don't really care. This fic will be a continuation of the events that transpired in the Avengers. The main plot will be a combination of the Acts of Vengeance Storyline and something along the lines of Avengers 332 and 333. Hope you enjoy the fic.**

* * *

"All clear!" the lab assistant called out once all of the workers were in the safe area of the laboratory behind the wall of thick plexiglass.

Doctor Tarleton nodded and switched on the machine. The device was designed to open a portal to an alternate dimension, but had failed in all previous tests. Tarleton prayed that this test would provide results. His employer was not known for his tolerance towards failure. The device sputtered a bit and a portal began to take form.

"Yes! YES!" Tarleton called out in excitement.

However, the portal sputtered out as it neared it's completion.

"Damn it!" Tarleton shouted, smashing his hand against the control panel.

Tarleton heard the door open behind him. His heart skipped a beat as he turned around, expecting to see his employer standing in the doorway. Much to his relief, it was merely one of the castle's servants.

"O-our s-s-sovereign demands a s-s-status report," the servant stuttered.

"Using S.H.E.I.L.D.'s data on the Tesseract and the prototype device that our lord created while studying in America, we have successfully created a device that can produce a portal to another dimension," Tarleton explained, "However, all efforts to make the portal stable enough to remain open have failed, and I fear that the heart of the problem is the fact that we're only using a replica of the Tesseract rather than the real thing."

"He's not going to like this," the servant said with fear present in his voice as he exited the room.

Tarleton resumed his work, desperately trying to find an error in calculation that could be easily fixed. However, the math gave no indication of any error. It was as he feared: without the Tesseract, creating a dimensional portal would be next to impossible. The door behind Tarleton swung open again and the hairs on the back of Tarleton's neck stood at attention when he heard metal footsteps enter the lab. He slowly turned around to face the man who had entered the laboratory. The man wore silver metal armor over his entire body and a dark green robe and cloak to signify his status as the king of Latveria. The hood of his cloak was pulled up over his head, but it did not hide the metal mask bearing a mirthless expression that covered his face. Beyond the mask, Tarleton could see the man's angry blood shot eyes staring right through him.

"Lord Doom," Tarleton said, biting back his fear, "You are looking well today. The portal device still needs a little more time to perfect, but I'm confident that we'll-"

Tarleton's explanation to Doom was interrupted by Doom's armored hand slamming against Tarleton's face and causing the scientist to fall backwards into the control panel gripping the left side of his face in pain. It was like his face had just been slammed against a truck. Doom walked out of the safe room and approached the device.

"Turn it on," Doom's low voice laced with a Latverian accent ordered.

Doctor Tarleton struggled to his feet and did as Doom commanded, without trying to argue that Doom should be behind the protective barrier. Questioning Doom's orders was the equivalent of a death wish, and Tarleton knew that Doom had survived far worse than any malfunction the device could throw his way. The device activated and began to open a portal before quickly sputtering out, just as it had before. Doom studied the portal throughout the entire process; his eyes were locked onto the portal with a fiery intent.

"It would seems that the Tesseract replica is not an adequate substitute," Doom stated.

"Yes," Tarleton admittedly fearfully, "That was the conclusion that I reached as well."

"No matter," Doom announced, two words that sent a feeling of relief through Tarleton's body, "The problem is easily rectified. We simply must claim the real Tesseract from it's current holders: the Avengers."

* * *

"So guys, what do you think of the Mansion?" Tony asked as he completed the tour.

Despite the fact that the Avengers had officially disbanded following the defeat of the Chitauri to avoid a legal incident, Tony Stark had secretly spent the past three weeks overseeing the conversion of his father's city mansion into a base of operations for the Avengers. Today he had provided the Avengers with a tour of the mansion to show off all of the new bells and whistles that he had installed.

"Tony, Fury ordered the Avengers to disassemble," Steve stated.

"Yeah, I know, I'm not good with orders," Tony replied, "Why do you have to be such a buzz-kill?"

"Steve's right, Tony," Natasha jumped in, "There are tons of legal repercussions that will come from this. Fury disbanded the Avengers for our own safety."

"I don't need Fury watching my back," Tony scoffed, "Besides, guys, you saw what we did when we worked together: we saved the world. We know the Chitauri aren't the only ones out there in the universe, and there are plenty of super villains here on earth. With the Avengers back together, we'll be able to handle any threat that is thrown our way."

"The man of iron speaks the truth," Thor interjected, "Midgard's safety rests in our hands. We would be unwise to try to fight by ourselves."

"See?" Tony said, "Thor gets it."

"Gets what?" Thor asked, looking at Tony confused.

"Just a little Earth-expression there," Tony explained, "It means you understand."

Thor nodded in understanding as Tony turned back to face Steve. Steve's eyes stared at him with a hard, unwavering expression.

"C'mon Steve," Tony pleaded, "Where else do you have to go? What else do you have to do? You've been looking for a place in this new world, and I dare say that this is it."

Steve seemed to go deep in thought considering this.

"Steve, no," Natasha said, "You can't possibly be considering this."

"Well, he's right," Steve acknowledged, "I've been a fish out of water ever since they thawed me out. Being with the Avengers when we were fighting the Chitauri was the only time that I felt like I actually belonged. I know it's selfish, but I have no where else to go. I'm not about to go work for S.H.E.I.L.D. after finding out about the Tesseract weaponry. Besides, Tony's also right about the team. We _can _do a lot of good for the world."

"Well that makes three," Tony announced, "Bruce?"

"I know that the Hulk can be a force for good," Bruce Banner stated, "We just need to focus his energies in a positive way. I think the Avengers gives the Hulk that kind of outlet."

"Clint?"

"Well, it looks like this is happening either way," Clint began, "And if it is, I definitely want in on it."

"You think I don't want the Avengers back together?" Natasha asked,"I do! But it's just not a smart decision, and this situation isn't that easy."

"If there are any repercussions, we'll face them together, as a team," Tony replied, "C'mon Natasha, we want you on the team with us."

Natasha let out a heavy sigh.

"I must be out of my mind," she said, agreeing to join.

"Then it's settled!" Tony announced, "The Avengers have been re-assembled."

* * *

Loki sat alone in the dungeon of Odin's castle. There wasn't a single living soul in the confines of the dungeon. Most all of Asgard's enemies were promptly executed for their crimes against the All-Father. However, Loki was a unique case in that he was Odin's son, and, despite Loki's actions, Odin still viewed Loki with the love that a father must have in regards to his children. But Loki was too far convinced otherwise to believe that Odin's sparing of his life had anything to do with love. He lost all hope for gaining his father's affections on the day when life changed forever for the trickster god. It still remained crystal clear in Loki's memories.

_Loki held onto Thor's hammer for dear life. His helmet had already fallen into the bottomless void along with the Bifrost Bridge. Odin was holding onto Thor's wrist, and Thor was holding his hammer with a tight grip. Powerful winds beat against them, causing Loki to sway back and forth over the void. Everything had been ruined. If only Thor would have died on Midgard, then the Bifrost would have ripped apart Jotunheim, and Odin would have awoken to find that his mortal enemies had been wiped off the plane of reality and to see that Loki was, indeed, a worthy son._

"_I could have done it father," Loki called out to Odin, "I could have done it. For you! For all of us!"_

_Loki looked desperately up to his father for approval. What he saw was only coldness. It was the same coldness that Odin always looked upon Loki with._

"_No, Loki," Odin replied._

_Two words. That was all that it took. Loki saw that it was futile. He would always just be the second rate son in Odin's eyes, no matter what he did or how hard he tried. There was no point. He would never be king. He would never be accepted. It was all for nothing. With nothing left for him, Loki let go of the hammer. He vaguely heard Thor call out in the distance, but he took no heed to it. He just closed his eyes and plummeted into the abyss._

Loki let out an immense sigh as he imagined how relieving it would have been if he had simply ceased to exist on that day. Instead, that was the day when he came into contact with a being possibly more powerful than anything else in this universe: Thanos.

_Loki was laying flat on the ground, face down. His fingers twitched, and he took in a deep breath. He slowly opened his eyes and pulled himself up. Loki studied the area around him. He was on a strange, rocky terrain, and it appeared to be night as all of the stars in the sky were visible._

"_I was beginning to think that you'd never wake," a voice from behind him echoed._

_Loki whirled around to see an imposing figure looming in the darkness. Loki's first instinct was to try to frighten off the creature by declaring his god-hood, but he thought better of it. The tactic had a tendency to backfire in most unpleasant ways. Loki, instead held his ground and kept his eyes locked on the shadowy figure._

"_Who is there?" Loki asked._

_The shadowy figure chuckled and stepped out of the shadows. The figure wore blue and golden armor, and his skin was dull shade of violet. His eyes glimmered blue, and the smirk on his face revealed devious intent._

"_I am Thanos," the figure's voice rumbled, "As all who dwell on this side of the universe would know. Now, if you would please reciprocate the introduction."_

"_I am Loki," he replied, "The rightful king of Asgard."_

"_A king?" Thanos chuckled, "It would seem that your kingdom has been lost to you, Asgardian."_

_Loki clenched his teeth. This Thanos figure had the audacity to laugh at his pain. It caused Loki's anger to boil within him. However, he kept his anger under control. Anger made battles positively unwinnable, and Loki did not want to put himself in that situation, at least not while Thanos remained a mystery to him._

"_I can see that I have angered you, Asgardian," Thanos said as if reading Loki's mind, "But do not grow angry. For, you see, I too have been exiled from my people."_

_Loki looked up at Thanos now with more curiosity than contempt. Could his fall from grace have truly given him a kindred spirit? Sometimes fate developed in bizarre machinations._

He and Thanos had shared so much. Thanos had once been the son of a prominent researcher in the world Titan. But, he had fallen deeply in love with the entity Death herself and used his immense powers to kill a large portion of the people of his world, earning him banishment. Loki and Thanos had both been outcasts, and the two were as close to possessing a friendship as either man was capable of.

Thanos showed Loki worlds that he never dreamed existed and gave him new purpose in this life once they learned that the other half of Thanos's staff, known as the Tesseract, was on earth. Thanos had granted Loki control over the Chitauri, a race of beings that Thanos had enslaved following his banishment, and left Loki and the Chitauri to obtain the Tesseract and enslave earth. It would have been the perfect plan if it wasn't for the Avengers.

The guard entered the dungeon and approached Loki's cell. He unlocked the prison door and released Loki. At first, Loki was puzzled by this, until he looked into the guard's eyes. They were glowing green. Loki's lip curved into a devilish smirk as he exited the dungeon. Waiting in the corridor outside stood a blond woman wearing all green and a large muscular man holding an immense axe in his hand: Amora the Enchantress and Skurge the Executioner.

"That took longer than expected," Loki said to Amora.

"Would you rather return to your cell?" Amora asked rhetorically, "At any rate, I had to wait for a time when both Thor and the All-Father were away from Asgard."

"Hmph," Loki scoffed, "And where are my imbecilic brother and arrogant father?"

"Thor has chosen to remain on Midgard to help protect the mortals," Amora explained with disgust present in her voice, "While the All-Father is off in Vanaheim renewing the Aesir's treaty with the Vanir."

"I have no interest in matters of Vanaheim," Loki replied, "However, Thor's remaining on Midgard presents a marvelous opportunity for revenge, my dear Enchantress. Come, let us depart for Midgard at once."

Amora waved her arms and green light enveloped the three figures as they vanished from the dungeons of Odin's place. Once gone, the prison guard snapped out of his trance. He sounded the alarm, and called up all of Asgard's finest warriors to search for Loki, but to no avail. The trickster god had vanished without a trace.


	2. Sudden Doom

"Stark, I'm getting about sick of dealing with international incidents involving you," Nick Fury groaned as he paced back and forth in front of Tony Stark's desk, "Look, you know that I support the Avengers. But the fact of the matter is that it isn't up to me. The world security council wants someone to blame for the near destruction of New York City, and, with Loki turned over to Asgard, the Avengers are the ones they wanted to come after. The only way that I was able to get them not to hold you all accountable for this was to promise that the Avengers would be disassembled. You bringing them all back together is a clear violation of that agreement."

"Fury, tell me, how is any of this the Avengers' fault?" Tony asked in reply, "We were the ones who stopped the Chitauri, not the ones who helped them."

"I know, Stark," Fury replied, "But the fact is that politics are a messy and complicated game. Your little scuffle leveled most of Manhattan. It caused billions of dollars in damages."

"I know," Tony responded, "Stark Industries paid for most of the rebuilding."

"Stark, just listen to me," Fury growled angrily.

"Sorry, this meeting is over," Tony said, "This is happening Fury whether you like it or not. The Avengers save lives. We're going to be there in case the world needs us again and we're gonna be ready. You saw the news casts after the incident. An alien invasion had just taken place and the people felt safe because we are there to protect them. You have no right to deny the people their heroes, Fury."

Fury just stood there, his one eye staring bullets at Tony. He was positively fuming with anger.

"Fine," Fury answered, "But when everything goes to pot, don't expect me to be there to cover your ass."

Tony just rolled his eyes as Nick Fury stormed out the door. Tony returned to lazily flipping through the paper work on his desk.

"Sir," JARVIS's voice rang throughout the room, "There seems to be a breach in mansion security."

"What?" Tony gasped as he leaped up from his office chair, "How is that possible? What's the method of entry?"

"A drain pipe in the basement, sir," JARVIS replied.

Tony rolled his eyes and slid back into the chair.

"It's probably just a mouse that found its way here from the sewer," Tony stated, "Remind me to call an exterminator later."

"Very well sir," JARVIS responded as Tony returned to ignoring his work.

* * *

Steve Rogers was putting in his daily workout in the mansion's gym. It had been nearly a week since the reformation of the Avengers and still there was no action to be had, not even a single bank robbery. On these quiet days, Steve often retreated to the mansion's gym to find something for him to do. While Steve was bench pressing, he heard heard a heavy metallic clanking sound. At first, Steve thought nothing of it, assuming that is was merely the sound of the weights bumping into each other, but, when Steve noticed that the noise was out of sync with his motions, he stopped and listened. The sound continued on, heavy and metallic, almost like footsteps.

"Tony?" Steve called out as he sat down his exercise equipment, "Is that you? Are you in your armor? Do I need to suit up?"

No response came but the noise continued, growing louder as if coming towards him. Steve got up from the bench and stood in an offensive position, ready to attack if the sound belonged to a hostile force. When the strange noise sounded to be right on the other side of the gym door, it stopped. Steve swallowed hard and stared intently at the door, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, a different sound started. It sounded a lot like how Iron Man's blasters sounded when they were charging up. Suddenly, with a loud bang, the door flew off its hinges and slammed directly into Steve. Steve threw the door off of him and faced his attacker.

The figure standing before him was indeed wearing armor similar to Iron Man, however, his armor was entirely silver and had a more simplistic design, looking almost more like a knight's armor. The figure wore a long green tunic that came down to his knees with a belt tied around his waist. The figure also wore a flowing green cape with the hood pulled up over his head. The hood, however, did not hide the mirthless expression of the armor's helmet.

"Who are you?" Steve asked, leaping to his feet, "What do you want with me?"

"I am Doctor Victor von Doom," the figure introduced himself, "I am the ruler of Latveria, and I have come to request a favor."

* * *

Doctor Banner was working the Mansion's extensive laboratory. Banner had given up on trying to "cure" himself of the Hulk following the incident in Dr. Sterns' lab nearly two years ago. Since then, Banner had devoted his time to controlling the beast within rather than eliminated him. However, following the Chitauri invasion, Banner had started another new approach: talking to the Hulk. He knew that the Hulk could be more than just a raging monster; that the Hulk did have a place in the world. By establishing a mental communication with the Hulk, Banner had managed to convince the Hulk to work peacefully with the Avengers.

Banner was currently running several controlled tests with Gamma radiation. He believed that Gamma rays held the secret to curing many of the diseases that afflicted humanity. With the large amounts of technology and research at his finger-tips, thanks to Stark, Banner truly believed that he could create some kind of Gamma ray based cure for diseases such as HIV and cancer. However, even with all of the data and technology at his reach, Banner estimated that he was still at least a year away from developing a treatment safe to use on humans.

Banner was so absorbed by his work, that he failed to notice a metal man wearing green clothing enter the room.

"Doctor Banner," the man called out, causing Banner to jump up from his desk and whirl around to face the speaker, "I am Doctor Victor von Doom, and, as the sovereign Lord of Latveria, I hereby order you to surrender to me the Tesseract."

* * *

Thor was always hungry. As an Asgardian, his metabolism was much higher than any normal human, and, given his athletic build and typical daily calorie burn, his metabolism was actually greater than that of most Asgardians. Thor was ravaging the kitchen, eating almost everything in sight. It was certainly a good thing that Tony was a billionaire, other wise, he probably couldn't afford to keep Thor fed.

"Another!" Thor called out as he smashed his empty mug of coffee on the kitchen floor.

"Sir," JARVIS's voice rang as it deployed several small robots to clean the shattered glass, "I do wish that you would stop breaking the mansion's supply of coffee mugs. It is quite a hassle to clean."

"Oh, come now, Ethereal Voice," Thor said with a chuckles, "Do not be so concerned over the trivial details."

JARVIS, not programmed to argue, activated the robotic arm that served Thor another mug of coffee. Thor gulped down the coffee and wolfed down the large plate of eggs, toast, bacon, and pancakes in under a minute.

"JARVIS, I've finished with my food," Thor called out, deciding to humor the computer by not smashing his plate and mug, "I'd like more food."

JARVIS did not reply.

"JARVIS?" Thor asked.

Another voice came over the intercom system. This voice was low and laced with an Eastern European accent.

"Thor, prince of Asgard," the voice hissed as the kitchen exits sealed themselves, preventing escape, "I am Doctor Victor von Doom. And, if you ever hope to taste freedom, you will surrender the Tesseract to me!"

* * *

Tony continued to mindlessly flip through his paper work, when JARVIS's voice spoke up again.

"Sir, Doctor Doom is in the foyer waiting for you," JARVIS stated, "He seems to have bypassed the mansion's front door security."

"What?" Tony shouted as he leaped up from his desk, "Dammit! It's only been a week, and a super villain has already found a way to waltz in here. I'll bet whatever Doom used to get past mansion security was what set off the alarm in the basement. Contact Thor, Cap, and Banner. Tell them to suit up and get ready to smash some metal."

"Sir, it would seem that Doom has blocked all contacts to the other three Avengers in the mansion," JARVIS stated.

"Shit!" Tony cursed.

"Shall I try to contact Black Widow and Hawkeye?" JARVIS asked.

"No," Tony instructed, "They're off running errands for Fury, and, after our little disagreement today, I don't want Fury knowing about this. I'll handle Doom myself."

Tony suited up in his Iron Man armor, and flew down into the foyer. Doom was standing in the center, waiting for him. The mirthless expression of his mask gave Tony no indications of what was on Doom's mind. Tony landed in front of Doom.

"I'm here," Tony said, "What do you want, Doom?"

"Iron Man," Doom hissed, "So pleasant to see you. I've come for the Tesseract."

"Fat chance, Doom," Tony replied, "Why the Hell should I turn over a force more powerful than anything else on earth over to a maniacal dictator?"

While Tony couldn't see Doom's mouth beyond the metal mask, from the look of Doom's eyes, Tony could guess that the doctor was smirking.

"Because, I have your team mates," Doom stated, "My Doombots are keeping Thor, Doctor Banner, and Captain America quite occupied in separate areas of the mansion. I also have the Black Widow and Hawkeye locked up in the Latverian embassy. After all, I caught them snooping around earlier this morning. How ironic that two of my targets would come to me. So, you see, Iron Man, my threat is very real. Hand over the Tesseract or the other Avengers will be slain. Their lives rest on your shoulders, Stark."


	3. Earth's Mightiest Heroes

**A/N: Yay, I got this chapter done a little quicker. Huzzah!  
**

* * *

The metallic man approached Steve slowly, with a hostile expression in its eyes that were surprisingly devoid of life.

"What do you want?" Steve asked, backing away from the figure.

"The Tesseract," the figure stated, "Seeing as though you do not posses the Tesseract, you shall function as a hostage."

"Really?" Steve asked as he wrapped his fingers around the barbell that he had just been bench pressing, "And what makes you think that I'm going to cooperate?"

"Resistance is futile," the figure answered, "My weaponry is far more advanced than anything you could have possibly experienced."

"Good bet," Steve replied, "But I've never been one for modern technology. I prefer good old fashion, methods. Like just plain knocking the bad guys out."

As Steve spoke, he swung the barbell like a hammer right into the side of the figure before it even got a chance to fire. The figure flew back into a stack of weights, it's green cape fluttering as it was knocked back. Steve set the barbell down and walked over to it, expecting to find it unconscious. As Steve approached it, he heard the familiar sound of it's blasters charging up, but, before he got the chance to react, he was blasted through the gym's wall on to the concrete next to the pool.

As Steve staggered to his feat, the cloaked figure grabbed Steve's neck and tackled him into the pool with surprising strength. As the two figures sunk deeper into the water, Steve felt the oxygen draining from his lungs. Fortunately, the super soldier serum allowed him to hold his breath longer than most men. Steve then noticed something about the cloaked figure: no bubbles were coming out of it's mouth. It had no lungs or need for Oxygen. It was a robot!

With this new found knowledge about his attacker, Steve set his goal on destroying a robot rather than immobilizing an attacking man. Steve grabbed on to the robot's head and, with some difficulty, twisted the head off of it's body. Sparks flickered as the wires tore apart and the robot was left in two, inanimate pieces. Steve, suddenly aware of his need for Oxygen, swam to the surface and took in a huge breath of air. The taste of fresh Oxygen was refreshing to him and brought strength back to his body. Steve then hoisted the two parts of the Doombot out of the water for Tony to examine.

* * *

"What sorcery is this?" Thor shouted, "You cannot imprison the son of Odin within this dining hall!"

"Oh, please do stop embarrassing yourself," Doom's arrogant voice growled, "You are but a pawn in my plan, nothing more than a mere hostage until Tony Stark gives the Tesseract to me."

"The Tesseract?" Thor questioned, "Are you mad, voice of evil? The Tesseract returned with me to Asgard when I escorted Loki to his prison cell. The Tesseract is in Odin's possession now."

"Do you take me for a fool, thunder god?" the voice hissed, "I see through your petty lies. I will have the Tesseract for my own. Make no mistake about that."

Thor remained silent, as if deep in thought.

"What is wrong, thunderer?" Doom's voice probed, "Has my uncovering of your lies rendered you speechless?"

"I am not speechless," Thor stated in a calm voice, "I am concentrating."

"What?" Doom asked.

As if on cue, the kitchen door fell off of it's hinges with a "thud" as Thor's Hammer, Mjolnir, flew into Thor's hand.

"It would seem that the Norns were against you this day, villain," Thor laughed as he flew out of the kitchen.

As Thor flew through the halls, he encountered Steve, who was fully dressed in his Captain America uniform.

"Where to?" Steve asked.

"Some villain has taken control of the ethereal voice of the mansion," Thor explain, "It would serve us well to defeat the villain."

"The guy that sent out the robots must be in the control room," Steve deduced, "Didn't Tony show that room to us on our first tour of the mansion."

"Aye," Thor replied, "If I recall correctly, it was in the sub-levels of the mansion."

Steve nodded.

"Then that's where we're heading!"

* * *

"Really, Stark," Doom began," Drawing this little exchange out isn't going to do you any good. The longer it takes for you to surrender the Tesseract, the more time my Doombots have to finish off your little friends."

"My team is a lot stronger than your robots, Doom," Tony responded, "Your robots will be a heap of scrap metal by the time the Avengers are through with them."

"Your faith in your team is admirable," Doom replied, "Foolish, yes, but admirable. However, admirability isn't going to save your team's lives. The only thing that will do that is your surrendering of the Tesseract."

"Not gonna happen," Tony stated.

* * *

The Doombot stationed in the control room flipped through the security cameras, following Thor and Captain America's movements throughout the mansion, attempting to blockade them with the mansion's security systems. However, the two superheroes were able to overcome all obstacles in their path. Captain America kicked down the control room's door and entered to find another armored man clad in green robes. The first thing that Steve noticed were the figure's emotionless eyes.

"Come, Captain," Thor bellowed, "Let us smite this infernal intruder."

"With pleasure!" Steve said as he threw his shield into the Doombot knocking it to the ground.

Thor then leaped into the air, and brought his hammer down on the Doombot's head, smashing it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

"Twas not even a challenge," Thor mumbled.

* * *

"I tire of your arrogance, Stark," Doom growled, "Give me the Tesseract!"

"As long as I still have a pulse, you're not getting the Tesseract," Tony stated.

Doom seemed to be fuming under his armor.

"Then I shall simply remove your pulse!" Doom said with chilling calmness.

Doom fired a blast of energy from his hand, directly at Tony, but, to his surprise, Steve jumped in the way and absorbed the blast with his shield. Before Doom realized what had happened, he was hurled across the room by Mjolnir, which promptly flew back to Thor's hand after Doom had successfully been knocked down. Steve and Thor dropped the two dismantled Doombots on the ground.

"Nice toys," Steve quipped, "They don't do well in the durability department though."

Doom pulled himself to his feet, fury was evident in his eyes, something that distinctly set him apart from his Doombots whose eyes, while believably human, were expressionless.

"You ignorant commoners," Doom spat, "Your alleged victories against my robotic duplicates are insignificant. It does not alter my gamble in the slightest. I still have the other three Avengers detained. And, besides, my Doombots will continue to piece themselves back together no matter how many times they are destroyed. After all, I was able to infiltrate the mansion by sending all of the miniature components of my Doombots through your drain pipe. And, thus, they were able to reassemble themselves in the basement and grant me access to the mansion."

"Thanks for telling me," Tony replied, "I'll be sure to account for that when I upgrade the mansion's security."

The unmistakeable angry roar of the Hulk echoed in the foyer. A Doombot was knocked through the wall, broken into several pieces and leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Hulk lunged through the hole and skidded to a stop inbetween the Avengers and Doom.

"Hulk SMASH!" the Hulk shouted.

"Stand back you insufferable blot on the face of humanity," Doom ordered, "I have Black Widow and Hawkeye locked up in my embassy. Their cell is laced with bombs. You touch me and... well... let's just say I'd have to have their room re-painted."

Hulk growled angrily but stood down.

"Now then, let's get back to point, shall we?" Doom continued, "I need the Tesseract to complete my gateway to Mephisto's Realm. I demand that you give it to me."

"We don't have it, Doom," Steve stated, "Thor took it back to Asgard after the Chitauri incident."

"Then you shall escort me to Asgard to retrieve it," Doom ordered, "Unless you want your friends' lives to be terminated prematurely."

Just then, the doors of the mansion swung open. All heads turned to face the doorway. Clint and Natasha were standing there, weapons in hand and pointed at Doom.

"Guess again, metal head," Clint quipped.

"WHAT?" Doom roared, "How did you two escape?"

"Life model decoys," Natasha explained.

"They're very handy," Clint added.

Doom growled to himself as he looked around the room. Hawkeye's arrow was aimed directly for him. Black Widow's guns were pointed in his direction. Iron Man's repulsers were online and ready to be fired. Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer were both being held by their respective wielders, both ready to strike. And Hulk was standing there, ready for an excuse to rip Doom's head off. This was a fight he could not win, nor would it serve his purpose. He whipped his cape around and walked to the front door.

"Step aside, neanderthals," Doom ordered.

"Fat chance," Clint replied.

"I am the sovereign king of Latveria," Doom explained, "I have diplomatic immunity in this cesspool of a nation, and, therefore, I cannot be detained. You have no authority to keep me here. Now let me make my departure. It was not a suggestion."

Clint and Natasha reluctantly stepped aside. Doom proceeded through the doorway and turned back to face the Avengers.

"Know this, Avengers," Doom said as he prepared to depart, "This fight is not over."

On that note, Doom's armor's flight system kicked in, and the ruler of Latveria flew away from the Avengers mansion, beaten.

* * *

Doom flew towards the Latverian embassy from the Avengers' mansion.

_What a miserable day, _Doom thought to himself, _No Tesseract. No glory. Just defeat. Doom should not be humiliated in such a manner. Perhaps tomorrow I'll send the Baxter Building into the Negative Zone to lift my spirits._

Doom smiled to himself at the notion. He arrived at the Gothic looking embassy that he had personally designed to suit his sense of style, and landed on the balcony of the embassy's top floor. This entire floor was reserved as living quarters for Doom whenever he visited New York City. No one else had the code to access this floor. Doom punched in his code on the panel next to the sliding glass door, granting him access to his suite. Doom slid open the sliding glass door and walked in. As soon as Doom entered the room, he could sense that something was not right. There was someone else here.

"Victor," a voice in the darkness said, "Why don't you have any of the good channels on your television?"

"Lights," Doom growled, hoping to get a good look at the intruder.

The lights flickered on, and Doom could see that the one who had spoken up was a tall and thin man with long black hair and green clothing. Standing behind him was a woman with long blond hair sporting all green clothing.

"Who are you two?" Doom hissed, "And how did you get in here?"

"I am Loki, Asgardian God of Mischief," Loki said with a slight bow, "And this fair lady is Amora, the Enchantress, my assistant."

"And to answer your second question," Amora spoke up, "We simply teleported ourselves in here."

"Asgardians?" Doom asked, seeing the opportunity, "Then you must help me to acquire the Tesseract. It is imperative that I obtain it."

Loki held up his hand as if to silence Doom.

"All in good time," Loki said as he began to walk closer to Doom, "I know about your little dilemma with your mother. I want to help you. I also need the Tesseract in order to satisfy a debt that I have to repay. We would do well to work together."

"Perhaps," Doom stated, "But if we both require the Tesseract, then how can we hope to work together?'

"You only need the Tesseract to get to Mephisto's Realm, correct?" Loki asked.

Doom nodded. Loki was right up on him by now, and was so close to Doom's face that he might as well have been kissing Doom's metal mask.

"Then I shall allow you the use of it," Loki continued, "And I shall have it once you have finished. Besides, we both a score to settle with those wretched Avengers."

Doom's lip curled into a smirk beneath his mask.

"Then an alliance would be very beneficial to both of us."

* * *

**A/N:****I know, I suck at writing fight scenes.** Anyways, that wraps up the first "episode" of my Avengers fic. Next up, we'll be starting up a new sub-story that's a part of this larger one.


	4. Honey, I Shrunk the Avengers

**A/N: A lot of dialogue in the chapter. Hank and Janet are heavily based on their portrayals in the Ultimate Avengers movie. I've combined Andrea von Strucker with Viper for the purpose of this fic. Just letting you know ahead of time.**

* * *

The Quinjet ripped through the skies, en route to a lab just outside of Las Vegas. Natasha sat in the pilot seat while Tony Stark, wearing all of his armor except for his helmet, and Thor sat in the passenger section of the jet.

"Remind me again why we are in route to this land of Nevada," Thor requested.

"We're going to the lab of Dr. Henry Pym," Natasha explained, "He's one of the top scientists in the world."

Tony scoffed, "Yeah, and a grade-A asshole too."

"It sounds as though this Dr. Pym and Tony stark have much in common," Thor noted.

Thor received a death-glare from Tony for that comment.

"And remind me again why exactly we're going to see Antman? Or is it Giant Man now? Or maybe Yellow-Jacket?" Tony asked, displeasure apparent in his voice.

"It's Giant Man at the moment," Natasha answered, "And we're going because Pym's wife, Janet, apprehended a high ranking HYDRA agent known as the Grim Reaper, and we're in charge of overseeing his transfer to the Vault."

"I still don't see why I couldn't go with Steve and Clint," Tony grumbled, "Intercepting HYDRA and Kingpin's weapon trade has got to be a lot more fun than dealing with Hank Pym."

"You appear to bear this Hank Pym much malice, Tony Stark," Thor noticed, "What has he done to offend you?"

"We just don't see eye to eye," Tony explained, "Had one or two disagreements in the past. The guy's kinda bitter about not being included in the Avengers."

Thor nodded in understanding as the Quinjet drew closer to its destination.

"We're here, guys," Natasha announced as she landed the jet in front of a large warehouse.

A woman who appeared to be of Asian descent walked up to the Quinjet as the three Avengers walked out.

"Hey Natasha!" the woman said.

"Hello Janet," Natasha replied with a smile, "How are you and Hank doing?"

"Things have been great!" Janet answered, "Gave that Grim Reaper guy a beat down last night. Felt good to get into action."

"Where is the prisoner?" Natasha asked.

"Inside," Janet replied, "Wait until you see Hank's new detainment method. It's gonna revolutionize prisons everywhere!"

"It would seem that this Dr. Pym has invented a prison greater than yours," Thor whispered to Tony.

"Oh please," Tony scoffed, "Whatever cooky idea Hank has cooked up can't possible compare to the Vault. It's souped up with the most advanced security system in the world, courtesy of Stark enterprises. There's no way for any supervillain to break out of it."

Janet led the three Avengers inside the warehouse. As they entered, Janet let out a scream, and Natasha jumped a bit. On the wall, a cluster of ants had written out the words "STARK SUCKS".

"Oh yeah, real creative, Hank," Tony said sarcastically, gesturing to the ants.

"What can I say? It's a gift," a blonde man in a lab coat said as he entered the room, "Looks like the happy little Avengers Initiative is here. Well, y'know, the unqualified team that was allegedly shut down anyways."

"The Avengers Initiative _was _shut down, Dr. Pym," Natasha explained, "Our Avengers team came together on chance. Captain America and I were the ones called in to handle the Loki scenario. Stark and Banner were originally only supposed to be there for scientific work on the Tesseract project, and Thor showed up unexpectedly."

"Sure, right," Hank stated sarcastically, "Yeah, everything makes sense now. It was an "accident". Never mind that Stark didn't qualify for the Avengers initiative, and Janet and I were supposed to be on the superhero team."

"Hank, please, don't do this today," Janet requested of her husband, "Let's just do our part and help in the transfer of the Grim Reaper to the vault."

"Finally, someone with common sense around here," Tony said.

"Oh yeah, Stark," Hank said turning his attention to Tony, "Wait until you see the Big House. It puts your puny little Vault to shame."

Hank and Janet escorted the three Avengers to a door. Standing guard in front of it was a robotic sentry.

"This is Ultron," Hank announced, "He's the most advanced artificial intelligence in the world, topping Stark's goofy JARVIS. Ultron's 'mind' is designed based on human brainwaves, making it essentially able to think on a human level with a much higher capacity for information. He also makes an excellent body guard. His weaponry puts Stark's repulsers to shame."

"Organic life forms are identified as Natasha Romanoff, Thor Odinson, and Anthony 'Douche-Bag' Stark," Ultron stated.

"I see you used your own brainwaves," Tony observed, "It must not be very intelligent then."

"Ultron, let us in to the Big House, please," Hank requested, ignoring Tony's comment.

Ultron, acknowledging the request, stepped aside and allowed the five superheroes to enter the room. Inside, the room was completely empty aside from what appeared to be a miniature model of a prison.

"This is the prison that was spoken of?" Thor asked, "It does not look as though any villains would be able to fit inside."

"That's the genius part," Hank bragged, "The Big House's inmates are shrunk down using Pym-particles and are contained within this miniature prison with no way to become bigger again without my Pym particles."

"This is a disaster waiting to happen," Tony grumbled, "Thor, wait out here in case bone-head's friends try to spring him."

"Aye," Thor nodded.

Hank, Natasha, and Tony huddled together on Pym's shrinking platform. Hank activated the Pym-particles and the three superheroes shrunk down to the size of an ant. The feeling of being shrunk was positively surreal and made Tony feel like he was going to be sick. Once the heroes were shrunk down to miniature proportions, Janet pick up the disk that they were sitting upon and set it down next to the Big House.

"Right this way," Hank said as he led Natasha and Tony into the building which, moments earlier, looked like nothing more than a model, "Now, just letting you know, we weren't able to remove the Grim Reaper's suit, only take away his scythe, so he very well could still be armed."

"Well that's comforting," Tony interjected, "Yeah, you couldn't be bothered to make sure that an extremely dangerous terrorist was completely unarmed? Expert hero work, Hank!"

"Tony, please," Natasha urged, "We'll be on our guard, Hank."

The inside of the Big House resembled a typical prison, except the cell doors were thick metal doors with small plexiglass windows rather than metal bars. All of the cells were completely empty, aside from the first one on the right. Tony put on his helmet as Hank led them over to the cell and typed in the security code that deactivated the lock. The three heroes walked into the relatively large (as compared to their size) cell.

Sitting on a bench on the opposite side of the room was the Grim Reaper. The HYDRA agent wore black leather body armor and a black trench coat. On the shoulder of the trench coat was a silver pin with the HYDRA emblem. He wore thick black boots and black gloves to cover his feet and hands. On his head, he wore a black helmet painted with a skull-like design. His eyes were hidden behind the mask, giving him a very enigmatic appearance.

"Well, if it isn't the traitor," the Grim Reaper spoke in a chilling, raspy voice, "Been a long time, Natasha."

"Eric," Black Widow said.

Iron Man grabbed her arm.

"Wait, you know this guy?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered, "Back before I came to work for SHIELD, I was an assassin for HYDRA."

"Good to know," Iron Man grumbled, "Just be careful with this guy. If he knows you, he knows the buttons to push."

"HYDRA hasn't been the same without you. The view has been considerably less enjoyable," the Grim Reaper interjected. While Tony couldn't see his eyes, he was sure that the Reaper was staring straight at Black widow's chest, "I mean, Andrea has no shortcomings in the looks department, but she's not you, Natasha."

"Strucker keeping his princess off duty?" Black Widow questioned, "What happened? Viper hasn't been seen in the past four months."

"SHIELD must be really be behind as far as intel goes," Grim Reaper chuckled, "Of course, we've kept you all in the dark about so many things. Baron Strucker is dead. Viper has taken over as the new leader of HYDRA."

"Andrea is the one calling the shots?" Black Widow asked in surprise.

"Yep," Reaper nodded, "She's really grown into the lethal leader her father always wanted her to be."

"Thank you for the intel, Eric," Black Widow stated with a smile.

"Natasha, if it was a secret, I wouldn't have told you," Grim Reaper stated, "Now then, are we gonna transfer me to the Vault now or I am gonna be stuck as a living action figure for the rest of my life?"

An explosion rang outside.

"Sounds like HYDRA just showed up," Iron Man observed, "C'mon, let's go make sure that Thor doesn't get to have all of the fun. Don't go anywhere, bone head."

Tony, Hank, and Natasha ran out of the cell, locking the door behind them, and used the Pym particles to regain their proper sizes. As they became human sized once more, they saw Thor and Wasp going toe to toe with a large muscular man wielding an axe and a beautiful blonde woman sporting an all green attire. As the woman sealed Wasp inside of a green force field, she turn her attention to Tony, Hank, and Natasha.

"Ah, more Avengers, I presume?" the woman questioned, "I am Amora, the Enchantress, but it doesn't really matter, does it? After all, you're only going to be alive for a few more minutes."


	5. Enchanted Evening

**A/N: This chapter was a bit harder to do since it's almost all one big fight.**

* * *

"These teams have become far too uneven," the Enchantress mused aloud, "Five against two is hardly sporting."

"AMORA!" Thor shouted as he flew swiftly towards the Enchantress.

She merely shook her head and held out her hand, freezing Thor in midair. The Enchantress proceeded to walk up to her attacker and kissed him on the lips. She then snapped her fingers and Thor became unfrozen.

"Thor, slay the man of iron," the Enchantress instructed.

Thor mindlessly nodded and dove into Iron Man, knocking him through the wall to the desert outside.

"The odds are still unfair," the Enchantress stated as she waved her arms.

Her hands began to glow green and Natasha, Hank, and Janet heard a cracking noise from behind them. They whirled around to see the Big House is ruins, much to Hank's horror. From out of the rubble, the Grim Reaper grew back to his human size.

"Now _this _is more like it!" the Grim Reaper exclaimed.

"You WITCH!" Hank yelled as he grew to his giant size.

"Skurge!" the Enchantress cried out.

On her command, the behemoth of a man serving the Enchantress leaped up and punched Giant Man square in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards and fall through the wall. Natasha immediately began to engage the Grim Reaper in hand to hand combat. The HYDRA lieutenant and the former HYDRA agent were too evenly matched for one to gain any advantage over the other. Wasp continued to fly around the Enchantress and fired blasts of energy at her.

* * *

Iron Man flew through the air with Thor in hot pursuit. Tony couldn't hurt his teammate, but somehow he felt that Thor wasn't exactly feeling the same way right now. Whatever Enchantress had done to Thor when she kissed him, it made the demigod completely unlike himself. Instead of the honorable man that Tony was used to, Thor was currently acting vengeful and ruled by anger.

"Thor, buddy, you gotta snap out of it," Tony yelled out to his brainwashed friend.

"My true love, Amora, has ordered you demise!" Thor shouted out, "And her will shall be done!"

Thor's hammer surged with lightning.

_Did he forget? _Tony asked himself, _His little lightning doesn't hurt my armor, it charges it. Maybe Enchantress's spell keeps him from remembering..._

Thor swung his hammer, causing a bolt of lightning to slam into Iron Man. Despite initial pain, the lightning recharged the armor just like the last time they fought.

"Hey Thor!" Iron Man called out, "Did you forget? Your lightning just makes me stronger!"

Tony then fired his powered up repulsors at Thor. The blasts hit Thor square in the chest, sending the thunder god flying backwards.

"Remember last time?" Iron Man called back.

"Last time...," Thor mumbled as the memory began to flood back to him, bringing Thor partially out of Enchantress's spell.

"Yeah, we fought in the woods over Loki," Iron Man called out, hoping to use his memories to break the spell, "Soon after we forged our Avengers team."

"Loki. Avengers...," Thor mumbled to himself, an inner battle going on in his mind, "No, cease your deciet, Man of Iron! They only truth is my love for Amora!"

_Shit, _Iron Man cursed to himself, _He's got to remember that he doesn't love her. He loves that astrophysicist woman. What was her name again?_

Thor hurled his hammer at Iron Man, hitting him in the stomach.

"GAH!" Tony cried out in pain, _Was it Gwen? No. Alicia? No. Peggy? No._

Thor began to swing his hammer around in a circle rapidly. The air around Iron Man began to morph into a tornado and swung him around like dust in the wind.

_Betty? No, that was Bruce's girl. Bucky? No that was Cap's boyfriend. Ja-_

Thor swung his hammer directly into Iron Man's chest, sending him falling back towards the ground.

_Jane? Jane. Jane! Yes! That was it! Jane!_

"Thor! What about Jane?" Tony called up to his attacker.

"Jane? Jane Foster?" Thor said, the name alone bringing his mind out of Enchantress's spell.

"She's the one you love, right?" Iron Man called out as he flew back up to Thor, "It's her you love, not Amora!"

"Jane," Thor repeated to himself, "Jane. Jane. Jane."

The memories of Jane flooded back into him and washed away the influence of the Enchantress.

"Iron Man," Thor bellowed in his usual tone, "What has transpired here?"

"Enchantress brainwashed you, and you attacked me," Tony explained, "Don't worry, I held back."

"Amora will pay for this treachery!" Thor shouted, causing lightning to crackle in the sky.

"Umm, yeah, who is she anyways?" Tony questioned.

"Amora the Enchantress and Skurge the Executioner are Asgardian villains," Thor explained, "Amora has long desired me to be her lover, but I have constantly rejected her advances because of the evil within her."

"Not that I'm keeping track or anything," Tony began, "But isn't this the second time that some crazy Asgardian has attacked earth?"

* * *

With some difficulty, Natasha had managed to subdue the Grim Reaper, knocking the HYDRA agent unconscious. Wasp, meanwhile, was keeping the Enchantress distracted by her energy blasts. The Enchantress, while managing to deflect the blasts, was still distracted and had her back turned to Natasha. The Black Widow pulled out her pistol and fired upon Amora. Just as the bullet reached Amora, the Enchantress used her magic to stop the bullet.

"Did you really think that your bullets would work on a goddess?" Enchantress gloated, turning towards Natasha.

"Maybe my repulsors will have better luck," Iron Man suggested as he landed in the lab.

Thor flew in close behind him.

"Amora, we would have words with thee!" he called out.

Lightning swirled around Thor's hammer. Iron Man's repulsors charged up. Wasp prepared to fire another blast of energy from her hands. Black Widow was aiming her guns right for Amora. Fear was evident on the Enchantress's face.

"Skurge, I need you!" she called out.

Outside, the four heroes saw the Executioner running towards the lab to come to his beloved Enchantress's aid. However, before he reached the lab, the colossal hand of Giant Man dropped down on top of him.

"Loki will make you pay for this!" Amora vowed as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

From underneath Giant Man's hand, the Executioner disappeared as well.

"Loki?" Thor vocalized what was on everyone's mind, "But my brother is locked away in Asgard. This cannot be!"

Natasha could see the beginnings of tears welling in Thor's eyes before they were blinked back by rage.

"Why can he not simply drop these wicked fantasies?" Thor asked, "Why can't he just be my brother again?"

"Janet!" Hank exclaimed as he ran inside, hugging his wife, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Janet proclaimed, "Just a nice little work out."

"A nice little work out that destroyed my lab," Hank noticed, "Where are we gonna live now?"

"Avengers Mansion," Natasha spoke up, "We could use you both on the team."

"Really?" Janet asked, her face lighting up.

"What? Natasha?" Tony objected.

"Tony, they were both supposed to be part of the team," Natasha explained, "And we never would have won today if we didn't have their help. They're coming home with us."

Tony knew better than to argue with Natasha when she made up her mind, even if it meant tolerating living under the same roof as Hank Pym.

"Yeah we'll come," Hank nodded, "You'll need us to save your asses next time a supervillain attacks."

Grim Reaper groaned and slowly began to come back to his senses.

"Excuse me," Natasha said as she walked over to Grim Reaper.

As Grim Reaper staggered to his feet, Natasha punched him right in the jaw, causing him to fall unconscious again.

"If I'm not mistaken," Natasha began, "We have a prisoner transfer to oversee."

* * *

Amora and Skurge rematerialized in the Latverian embassy. Doom had been kind enough to offer the embassy as a base for Loki and his cohorts. Amora had her suspicions about Doom and Loki's sudden bond, but she kept them to herself. The Enchantress turned to her bodyguard. Skurge was still unconscious from being slammed into the ground by Giant Man, and Amora was also feeling weary from the battle. Just then, a blast of green magic hit Amora square in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She looked up to see Loki standing above her, his face livid with anger.

"You stupid little whore!" Loki shouted, "How dare you show your face around here after revealing my presence to the Avengers!"

Loki kicked Amora in side, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Please, Loki, have mercy!" she begged.

"Do you realize the magnitude of what you have done?" Loki hissed angrily, "Not only did you fail to kill Black Widow and Iron Man, but you also told them that you were in my employ. Now they'll be ready for me!"

"Lord Loki, please, I did not mean for it," Amora pleaded, "Please, have mercy upon me."

"If you weren't so vital to my plans, I'd throw you into the fiery pits of Muspelheim," Loki growled, "But you should count yourself fortunate that I am still in need of your service, Amora. I shall spare you."

"Thank you, my lord," Amora sighed with relief, "You are truly most benevolent."

"But now I'll need to change the game," Loki said more to himself than Amora, "It will be difficult to regain the element of surprise, but not impossible. It's high time I revealed myself to the mighty Avengers."

Loki then exited the room, slamming the door behind him and leaving Amora alone in the dark. She rubbed her hand over the spot on her chest directly above her breasts where Loki had hit her with magic. She felt a sharp sting as her hand grazed the spot, and she was sure that there would be a terrible burn mark there. Still, she was thankful that she was able to escape Loki's wrath with only a burn. It was truly a light punishment by Loki's standards.


	6. Gamma Perfection

**A/N: First tell tale sign that I've been watching too much _Criminal Minds_: The fact that I've brought in Keen Marlow and completely rewritten him so that he's essentially an expy for Agent Gideon. Oh well, I don't think it matters that much, and I like having that character's feeling of senoirity. But the idea to reinvent Marlow as being someone working for the government and later SHIELD is entirely based off the character's portrayal in the 90's Spider-Man cartoon. Also, yes, I am fully aware of the innuendo that I insinuated.**

The blue glow of the television was all that was lighting the living room of the Avengers mansion. Janet and Clint were sitting on the sofa, eating popcorn, and laughing hysterically at the movie that they were watching. In the week since she had become an Avenger, Janet had quickly bonded with Clint, much to Hank's chagrin. The two had the same taste in movies and loved to spend their nights off watching them. Bruce walked up from the lab after working in it all day long. As he walked into the room, he stopped and watched a part of the movie.

"Are you two watching cartoons?" Bruce asked.

"This isn't a cartoon," Clint corrected, "It's a feature-length animated film. It's Disney, man!"

"Ooh, Clint, here comes my favorite part!" Janet announced.

The three Avengers turned their attention towards the screen.

"_Pull the lever, Kronk!" Yzma ordered._

_Kronk pulled the lever, causing a trap door to open beneath Yzma._

"_WRONG LEVERRRRRR!" Yzma called out as she fell into an alligator pit._

Clint and Janet burst out laughing at the scene. Bruce chuckled a bit as well. Just then, however, the movie faded from the screen and Nick Fury's face appeared in its place.

"Hey!" Clint shouted, "We were watching that!"

"Of course, because cartoons are so much more important than international security," Fury replied sarcastically.

"Not cartoons, an animated film," Clint corrected.

"Whatever," Fury scoffed, "Where are the other Avengers? I have important information for you all."

"Tony had to go to a business meeting in Paris and he took Cap with him," Clint answered, "Something about wanting to show him the lights of Paris."

"Thor went back to Asgard to alert Odin of Loki's escape," Banner added, "And Natasha is doing undercover work, spying on the Roxxon Energy Corporation. We haven't heard from either of them in days."

"And Hank is out in Nevada, wrapping up details of the move," Janet chimed in.

Fury growled in irritation.

"A team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and only three are available," Fury grumbled, "Well it's better than nothing. Well, come to the SHIELD New York city headquarters. Doctor Samson will brief you on the crisis."

"Doctor Samson?" Bruce asked, "Leonard Samson?"

"You know him?" Clint asked.

"He was a colleague of mine," Bruce explained, "He was also involved for a time with Betty."

"Sounds like someone's a little green with envy," Clint laughed.

"Yes, Leonard Samson," Fury answered, "He's the top scientist of SHIELD's new division that specializes in gamma radiation. But that's unneeded information. Get down to SHIELD headquarters, pronto. Fury out."

Fury's image faded from the screen and the television returned to showing scenes from _The Emperor's New Groove_.

"Let's go, team!" Janet said as she hopped up from the couch, "Avengers, assemble!"

* * *

Janet, Clint, and Bruce all headed over as quickly as possible to SHIELD's New York city base. From the outside, it looked like a generic office building, but, once past the façade, it was one of the most complex military buildings in the United States. One of the guards in the lobby lead the three Avengers to the lowest basement level, where they met up with a man in his late thirties to early forties with black hair, Leonard Samson, and a man who looked to be in his mid-fifties that one recognized.

"Oh my God!" Janet squealed when she saw Samson, "You're that guy on Modern Family!"

"Janet," Bruce whispered to her, "That's Doctor Samson."

"It's okay," Samson laughed, "I get that a lot. I don't see the resemblance, personally. This is Keen Marlow, SHIELD consultant for this project."

"What exactly is this project?" Clint asked.

"Eh, SHIELD's just trying to recreate the super soldier serum again," Keen Marlow answered, "I told 'em not to bother; it can't be recreated."

"Marlow, that's classified information," Samson protested.

"For you, not for me," Marlow replied, "I'm not on SHIELD's payroll."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Marlow," Janet began, "But who did you say you were?"

"I'm sorry," Marlow responded, "I should have properly introduced myself first. I was in the military in the early seventies, and I was chosen for the CIA's attempt to recreate the super soldier serum. The whole project was basically a failure. The serum did increase my strength, speed, and agility, but it was minor. It didn't even reach peak human condition. So I left the army and started working as a profiler for the FBI. Worked there for thirty years. They called me "The Destroyer".I retired last year., but SHIELD called me in to be a guinea pig for this project."

"We wanted to do some comparative blood tests," Samson corrected, "We want to compare Bruce and Keen's blood to Steve Rogers', to see if we can find out what we've done wrong. But that's not why you were called here."

"So, Leonard, why did Fury send us to see you?" Bruce asked.

"Well, our problem is with Doctor Samuel Sterns," Samson responded, "We believe he has access to our research."

"Who?" Clint asked.

"Another colleague of mine," Bruce answered, "He once tried to help cure me of the Hulk, but failed."

"He was also the one that turned Emil Blonsky into Abomination," Samson explained, "Which is why SHIELD took him into custody. Turns out, his brain was effected by gamma radiation. It made him super intelligent. He escaped custody about a month ago."

"I didn't know about his detainment," Bruce replied, "And why didn't SHIELD notify the Avengers about his escape?"

"I'm just a part of the science division," Samson responded, "I don't make any of the decisions for SHIELD. Anyways, he stayed off of SHIELD's radar until last week. This facility suffered a break-in. Several blood samples were taken as well as research data and other notes."

"I told them that it was Sterns from the beginning," Marlow chimed in, "I worked as a FBI profiler for over thirty years; you pick up a few things. Anyways, the UnSub for the break-in was clearly super intelligent, as shown by his ability to break into this facility, and possessed an obsession with Gamma radiation, as shown by what he stole. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it was Sterns."

"SHIELD then began to notice that several of the recently apprehended supervillains had traces of gamma radiation in their blood, being used to enhance their powers," Samson continued.

"It certainly fit Sterns's M.O.," Marlow added, "Using the data collected from the supervillains, I did a little digging and manged to find Sterns's hideout. But, when SHIELD sent in agents to apprehend Sterns, only one agent made it back. He said that the other agents were turned into some kind of white Sasquatch creature."

"And you guys need the Avengers to clean up the mess?" Bruce asked.

"Essentially, yes," Samson replied.

"No problem!" Wasp announced, "The Avengers are on it!"

* * *

"Y'know, Tony, that was the first time that I actually had fondue," Steve announced to Tony as they walked together under the Eiffel tower.

"Really? How'd you like it?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"I loved it," Steve announced, "I could have it over and over again."

"Well, wait a bit before you go for more fondue," Tony advised, "It's better to have a gap in between each time or the sensation will wear off."

Steve smiled and nodded. Just then, however, the sound of an explosion rang around the area. Tony whipped out his phone.

"JARVIS, what happened?" Tony asked.

The phone began the display footage of what appeared to be a very gruesome car wreck.

"It would seem, sir," JARVIS began, "That a car bomb went off while someone was driving. Not only did it affect the vehicle itself, but also several vehicles around it, causing a massive pile up just a few blocks away. Civilians are still trapped in their vehicles."

"C'mon, Cap-sicle," Tony said as he put his phone back in his pocket, "It sounds like we've got work to do."

Steve nodded and the two began to run towards the wreck. A few yards away, a man with binoculars watched the two superheroes run off. The man put away his binoculars and pushed a button on the communication device in his ear.

"Sir, they've taken the bait, just as you predicted."


End file.
